Image Pyramids
When an image is imported, the user has the option to “Build Pyramids.” The build pyramids option enhances the on-screen display of images by resampling the imported image at different resolutions. Based on the current extents of the graphics window, one of the resampled images is displayed to deliver the best on-screen display.
There are a few points to keep in mind when building pyramids. The initial generation of pyramid files can take several minutes, depending on the size of the original image and your computer hardware. Building pyramids uses more memory RAM, but the software performance is not otherwise affected. Building pyramids may not improve the on screen display of all images.
Image Preferences (SMS Only)
When pyramids are built for an image, up to four JPEG images are saved to disk. These image files can be saved to a temporary folder or can be saved in the same directory as the original image so that they are not regenerated each time the image is loaded. The user’s preferences for building pyramids can be set in the images tab of the preferences dialog (Edit | Preferences).
